Archive for the ‘Options Trading’ Category

By Jim Walker on Monday, December 17th, 2018 | Comments Off on When Investments Are Volatile Should You Sell or Buy?

The stock market has been in a selling mood for the last two weeks and the bears are predicting more of a selloff. The VIX indicator of market volatility is roaming in the low 20s which is higher than the teens where the CBOE volatility indicator resides during periods of no market turmoil. As market falls it would appear that many investors have decided to take a little profit while others are buying in expectation of a rebound. The question is if this is the start of a long term slide, a more substantial market correction, or just a bump […]

By Jim Walker on Monday, August 6th, 2018 | Comments Off on Is This Going to Be a Painful Correction for Unwary Investors?

If you have ridden the bull market to higher and higher levels, is it time to take a little off the table and realize profits? The old saying is, by the way, that you do not have a profit until you take a profit. Is this going to be a painful correction for unwary investors? Market Watch notes one warning indicator which says that serious pain awaits investors.
One of those measures, in particular, has popped up on investor radars lately, and that’s the “Buffett indicator.” The Berkshire BRK.A, +2.83% boss called it “the best single measure of where valuations stand […]

By Jim Walker on Wednesday, August 1st, 2018 | Comments Off on How to Profit When Other Investors Lose Their Shirts

Whoa! What happened to Facebook? The stock lost just over twenty percent of its value in four days between July 25 and July 30. If you invested in the stock a few months after the IPO in 2012 you bought Facebook for $18 a share. And, if you had sold at the peak on July 25th, you would have gotten $217.50 a share for an eleven-fold, 1,100% profit. We all wish we had the foresight to spot every Facebook opportunity in order to buy and sell at the right times. But, successful investors live in the “now” and not in […]

By Jim Walker on Thursday, May 17th, 2018 | Comments Off on How Can You Use Options to Protect Your Investment Portfolio?

The stock market has had a long bull run and now is in danger of a major correction. We have written about how to deal with this possibility in our articles about safe investment niches, if you want to buy gold, and how you might switch your investment focus from growth to value. Today, we would like to look at another approach. How can you use options to protect your investment portfolio?
The Use of Options in Investing
Stock options can be useful in getting into an investment, providing a little extra income along the way, and protecting your investment. The tools […]

By Jim Walker on Wednesday, August 30th, 2017 | Comments Off on How Much Should You Pay to Protect Your Portfolio?

The stock market seems to have peaked and may be ready for a substantial correction. How much should you pay in terms of lost opportunity in order to protect your portfolio? Bloomberg writes that many investors are moving from stocks to bonds which they describe as a bear market signal.
Risks are stacking up for markets attempting to recover from the latest provocation by North Korea and the mounting damage of Tropical Storm Harvey.
Citigroup Inc. strategists including Jeremy Hale cite “worrying developments” that may signal the approach of a correction in stocks, while Commerzbank AG finds growing evidence of bearish sentiment […]

By Jim Walker on Monday, January 26th, 2015 | Comments Off on Profit from an Overpriced Stock Market

There is increasing concern about the fact that stock valuations are at a ten year high. CNBC reports that prices have maintained despite lower earnings. The S&P 500’s price-to-earnings ratio, which compares the price of the S&P to analyst projections of what S&P companies will earn over the next 12 months, has risen to 16.6, […]

By Jim Walker on Wednesday, January 30th, 2013 | Comments Off on Investing and Immigration Reform

A bipartisan group of US senators as well as a group from the House of Representatives have come up with comprehensive plans to deal with US immigration issues. The fact that everyone seems to be looking at creating a comprehensive solution has business leaders excited and supportive. There are at least eleven million illegal immigrants […]

By Jim Walker on Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 | Comments Off on Invest in US Stocks

Is now the time to invest in US stocks? The old saying credited to Baron Rothschild in the 19 th century is, “The time to buy [stocks] is when there’s blood in the streets.” The saying can apply to war and the shedding of blood but usually applies to difficult financial, social, and economic conditions. […]

By Jim Walker on Friday, July 22nd, 2011 | Comments Off on Best Stocks to Invest

What are the best stocks to invest in as the world still struggles to wrest itself from the effects of a worldwide recession? Investing on companies with cash is always a safe bet during troubled economic times. Consumer products stocks typically make money during both good times and bad. Then again cyclical stocks always take […]

Options are one of the most flexible trading instruments available to investors and are a terrific means of increasing your income. Options trading is less costly than stock trading and also gives a highly leveraged approach that can significantly reduce the total risk associated with a trade. When you trade options, a contract exists concerning […]